Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Robert Lipscomb has left the Memphis Housing Authority in an arrangement that gave him a settlement of more than $90,000. (Karen Pulfer Focht/The Commercial Appeal files)(Photo: The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

Robert Lipscomb has left the Memphis Housing Authority in an arrangement that gave the former director a settlement of more than $90,000 and a resolution that thanked him for his service to the city.

The, deal, approved earlier this month by the MHA board, ends Lipscomb's association with the agency, where his vision changed public housing for Memphis.

"Both sides decided to move in different directions" said Ricky Wilkins, Lipscomb's attorney. "MHA has brought in a new leadership team to aid it in going forward. Mr. Lipscomb is pursuing other interests separate from city government."

Lipscomb's final departure from MHA comes months after accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor more than 10 years ago surfaced late last summer. The young man, now in his mid-20s, claimed the alleged contact occurred when he was 16 years old.

Shortly after the accusation, Lipscomb resigned as director of Memphis Housing and Community Development, but was suspended with pay, and later without pay, from MHA.

Others have come forward with more accusations, but no legal action has been taken against Lipscomb.

"It's still under review by our office, but no decision has been made one way or another," said Larry Buser, spokesman for District Attorney General Amy Weirich.

As head of the MHA and HCD, Lipscomb reshaped the city's landscape, securing millions of dollars in federal funds to tear down public housing projects, replacing them with new mixed-income communities that often placed requirements such as employment on former public housing residents who wanted to return.

He was responsible for the proposed redevelopment at the former Fairgrounds and was the mastermind behind bringing Bass Pro Shops to the Pyramid.

Lipscomb, 66, joined MHA in 1999, said Wilkins, a former MHA board chairman Although it had not been made public, Wilskins said Lipscomb had been discussing his departure with the MHA board before the accusations materialized.

"I appreciated MHA thanking him for his service," Wilkins said.

MHA has been without a director since Dec. 31, when interim director Maura Sullivan left for a job with Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. She had been appointed Sept. 2, after Lipscomb was placed on leave.

Read or Share this story: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/government/city/2016/02/29/robert-lipscomb-leaves-memphis-housing-authority-with-90000plus-settlement/90450968/